


Mr. Brightside

by ronaldknox



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-12
Updated: 2014-07-25
Packaged: 2018-02-04 08:52:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1773160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ronaldknox/pseuds/ronaldknox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of a boy who wants to make everyone happy but hasn't been happy himself for a long time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Red

**Author's Note:**

  * For [munzie (enjolrasenthusiast)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/enjolrasenthusiast/gifts).



> I literally wrote this while listening to Mr. Brightside. Like my first thought when the song came on was "Makoto!
> 
> First ever free fic. Hopfully its good. Let's see where it goes from here.
> 
> This fic is a gift for the lovely Peaches. She cool.

There he was again laughing and talking with Haru. He'd be absolutely delighted if it weren't for the fact that it hurt so much to watch. He wanted to feel happy that his two closest friends were reunited and on speaking terms again. He wanted to feel happy that they had all gotten to swim together. (He'd have to thank Rei for that later.) He wanted to be happy for Haru, Rin, Nagisa. Hell, he wanted to be happy for himself. It just wasn't right to feel like this especially after all of this happened.

 

As he watched the redhead talk enthusiastically to the other and Haru nod and smile he felt his stomach flip unpleasantly.

Haru liked Rin.

Rin clearly liked Haru.

Where did that leave him?

He'd liked Rin ever since he was 12. Ever since he saw that wonderfully wide toothy smile and heard that twinkling laughter. That was all it took. He was hooked on and it felt great.

At first.

Then he quickly started noticing that he constantly talked about his bestfriend and that was when the good feeling ended. He tried his hardest not to feel jealous of his best friend because honestly who could blame Rin for liking Haru? Who could blame anyone liking Haru? He was absolutely captivating and he shined so brightly.

Mako was just his shadow. At least that's how he felt. He was strangely content with that. He just wanted them to be happy more than anything. They deserved it.

 

Coming back to reality, he noticed that the two of them had stopped talking and were looking over at him expectantly. He smiled the most genuine smile that he could muster but apparently luck wasn't on his side and his best friend frowned and began making his way over towards him. His fake smile dropped slowly as he watched him make his way over to him.

"Makoto." He said in his usual monotone voice. But his bright blue eyes reflected extreme worry. The green eyed boy tried to give a reassuring laugh but it got caught in his throat. He looked down as the smaller males eyes seemed to widen.

" _Makoto_." He said a bit more forcefully. Mako felt a chill race up his spine and he let out a shaky laugh. "I'm fine Haru.You don't need to worry about me." He said with an all but steady smile. Haru stared at him intensely for a good five seconds before his eyes narrowed.

"You're lying."

His smile faded and he sighed softly. He knew he would see through his lie he didn't even know why he even tried to lie to the other male. He was his bestfriend. His brother. His platonic other half. How could he even begin to think that he could lie to him?

Maybe he really was stupid.

"Everything's fine Haru. You really don't have to worry." he reassured in a slightly shaky voice.

Haru's eyes widened.

Oh no.

"I have to go tell Rin and the other's I said bye!" he stammered out on a hurry.

"Mako!" Haru yelled after him.

He didn't turn back he kept on running. He couldn't let Haru see him cry. He'd promised himself that when he was younger and he wasn't about to break it to himself now.

He ended up running all the way home. His mom of course asked how the relay went but he went straight up to his room and flopped down on his bed. The tears came soon. As did the texts. He sniffed and got off of his bed and retrieved a box of tissues from his bed side table.

He cried for about twenty minutes before he finally checked his phone.

14 missed calls, 57 text messages and 1 voice mail.

This was going to be a long night.


	2. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoop! I'm probably gonna update this every couple of days so yeah.

Makoto always wondered why Haru even bothered to get a phone. He never used it or even left the house with it most days which worried Makoto a lot because what if he was in danger? What if something happened? He used to have panic attacks quite often about it until Haru found out and sternly told him that it would be okay. That he would be fine. Makoto wasn't convinced but stayed silent and had given the other swimmer a radiant smile and a nod. It didn't convince him but he seemed to be satisfied so, he never brought it up again.

So of course it came as a shock to find that over half of those calls and texts had been from the freestyle swimmer. Most of them were just texts asking what was wrong. One of them said that Rin was worried and the rest were just him typing his name over and over again. He smiled bitterly.That was until he scrolled to the bottom and read a text that made his blood run cold.

_**> I'm Coming over**._

Now Makoto was not one to deny his best friend's visits. In fact, he quite liked them even though Haru never really talked it was just nice to have company sometimes and the twins loved him as well so that was a plus.

It was nice not to be alone.

On most days.

Today was not one of those days.

He scrambled off of the bed and fumbled with his phone. Haru couldn't see him like this. Tear streaked face, pink puffy cheeks. He was goin to ask Mako so many questions. But that text was sent six minutes ago. Maybe he still had time to call him and tell him to turn back. He took a deep breath and dialed the number.

"Makoto." The other swimmer answered in his usual monotone but there was a touch of worry etched in that Makoto could hear. He took a deep breath and smiled lightly.

"Haru! I'm so glad I caught you before you left!" He said in a deceptively cheerful voice. He knew how bad he sounded but hopefully Haru wouldn't notice. 

"You called to tell me not to come over." He said flatly. Makoto nodded and then realized how stupid it was for him to do so since he forgot that Haru wasn't actually there. 

"N-No I'm just calling to tell you that you shouldn't waste a trip because everything's fine." He said his voice just barely steady. He heard an irritated grunt over on the other line.

"You're lying again." Haru replied his tone very accusatory and disapproving. For once, he hated that Haru knew him so well. It was making things rather difficult."You never lie to me. Why are you lying Makoto?" The other asked. There was a small tinge of hurt and betrayal in his voice that made his breath get caught in his throat. He hadn't meant to hurt him. That was the last thing that he wanted.

 Boy this was going to be harder than he thought! He racked his brain for an excuse any excuse but he just couldn't think of one. Finally as he thought of one Haru began to speak up.

"...I'll be there in 15 minutes." He said curtly and then the line went dead. Makos jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

_'Dammit!'_

This wasn't good. This was bad.

Very,  _very_  bad. 

Well since he couldn't stop Haru from coming over he had to at least get cleaned up before his arrival. He did have some time after all. He looked down at his phone and smiled. twelve minutes should be more than enough time to get himself and his room looking decent.

He sighed softly and got up off of his bed and rubbed some of the tears from his face and took a deep breath and stood up. He opened his door and his jaw dropped in shock.

"Haru?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is it so far? Am I doing good?


	3. Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru isn't backing down. Makoto feels like doodoo.

He had promised himself that he wasn't going to let Haru see him like this yet here he was with red puffy tear stained cheeks and glassy eyes filled with unshed tears. The others eyes were wide in and he could see shock and worry had clouded into them. “Makoto…” Haru muttered quietly voice barely wavering. Makoto looked down at his best friend and managed a small smile.

"…I didn't expect you here so soon." He said sheepishly with a small chuckle. He saw Haru frown and he ducked his head down and motioned for the other to come in. The smaller male nodded and walked and sat on the bed as the taller of the 2 closed the door softly. He then sighed and walked over and sat down next to Haru. It felt painfully awkward to be around the other in this emotional state. He didn’t know what to say but he knew that he needed to say something though.

"So.. what brings you here?" He asked airily. That must have been the wrong thing to say because the next thing he knew Haru was glaring at him. He immediately felt small underneath the others intense gaze. He eventually looked away and down at the floor and it was silent for about thirty seconds before he felt the bed shift underneath him. Haru’s feet slipped into his vision.

"Look at me." Haru commanded above him. Makoto clenched his teeth together and stiffened. He couldn't. He just couldn't. Not when he felt tears start to make his way down his cheeks again. He refused.

"Makoto." The other said his tone slightly more worried. Makoto clenched his fists. He couldn't do it. Not in this state. No. No  _No._ He began shaking as the tears began to fall faster. 

He hated himself right now. He hated how weak he looked. That was when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “ _Makoto!_   _Please!”_ His head snapped up in surprise. Haru seldom ever rose his voice. 

He looked up and saw his best friends usually impassive face contorted with worry. It then faded to surprise as he removed his hand from the others shoulder. Makoto tried to give him a smile to reassure him. Tried to tell him wordlessly that he was okay. But he couldn’t even do that right.

"I’m…I’m okay Haru. I promise." He murmured his voice slightly hoarse and shaky from his crying. Haru’s blue eyes widened and he frowned. "Stop lying to me." He said with his usual flat voice but there was a certain edge to it that made Makoto shiver. 

"I-Im no-" He began with a slight frown but, he was quickly interrupted. 

“ _Bull. Shit._ " Haru hissed at him. "Makoto." He said staring at him with a look that said  _'I'm not leaving until you tell me exactly what's wrong.'_  He sighed and ran a hand through his sandy brown hair and patted the space next to him. 

"So…Haru..How would you feel if I told you that I might possibly really like Rin?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WRITING HARU IS DIFFICULT I HOPE I DID WELL OH GOD  
> im sorry about this chapter being so short ah.... D: im still getting back into writing so the chapters won't be that long im sorry!


	4. Green & Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makos weird. And Harus a good friend.
> 
> Sort of.

After his confession the atmosphere in the room had gotten less tense strangely enough to Makotos surprise. The boy sitting next to him looked at him and frowned. “If you like him then tell him. Being all weird and moody isn’t going to get him to like you.” Haru replied in amonotone voice.

 

Mako frowned and looked at the other skeptically. “It’s not that easy Haru and, anyway, don’t you like Rin?” He asked with a questioning gaze. Haru looked like he never thought about it and seemed to consider the question a bit in his head. Finally he looked back at Makoto after what seemed like forever and said. “No. Not at all.” He says shaking his head. He then got up and opened the door. “I’m gonna go get a drink you want anything?” He asked as he looked at the other from the door way. Mako jumped a bit and nodded. “Just a glass of water.” He said quietly. The other nodded and made his way downstairs leaving the taller male to his thoughts.

So Haru didn’t like Rin. That solved a couple of problems. But who did Rin like? It seemed glaringly obvious that the other liked Haru liked Rin but he had been wrong. So what if he was wrong about Rin too? He didn’t get a chance to fully process his thoughts because Haru had come back fairly soon with their drinks. 

"I’m back. Also your mom is super worried about you. Says you came home and didn’t say hello to anyone and just ran to your room." Haru set both of the glasses of water on Makoto’s bed side table. Makoto winced. He’d have to apologize to his mother later. Haru sat back down and looked over at the other and nudged him. "Hey. Your phones flashing. I think you have a message." Haru muttered nonchalantly. 

Makoto blinked and opened up his phone and saw that it was a voice mail. “Oh yeah!” He said suddenly remembering that he had forgotten to check it. “Put it on speaker. I wanna hear it to.” Haru said as he took a sip of his water. Makoto nodded and put it on speaker. He didn’t know why Haru wanted to hear it so bad but whatever. He wasn’t questioning it right now..

‘ _You have 1 new voice message._

_"Hey Makoto… Haru looked super worried about you and said that you were acting really weird and stuff so, I just wanted you to know that even though we just kinda got on good terms again and all that you can talk to me about this shit you know? Like…Shit..Fuck I’m not good at this like at all. But yeah I care um…yeah..bye I guess."_

_'You have no more messages.'_

Makoto gaped at his phone and looked up at Haru who seemed to be holding back laughter. “What does that mean…?” He mumbled with a thoughtful frown. Haru threw a pencil at him and frowned. “It means he might like you too dumby.” He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

Makoto felt his jaw go slack at this information. “B-BUT! Doesn’t Rin like you? I mean he was like obsessed with you for a good while like he even ignored me and Nagisa while you were around!” He said looking at him in disbelief. 

Haru frowned. “Rin liked the idea of beating me.” Haru said simply. Mako didn’t accept that and shook his head. “No! It was more than that!” He exclaimed in distress. “He liked swimming with you he-“

Haru raised his hand to silence him. “I like swimming with him too. But that doesn’t mean I’m in love with him Makoto. I like swimming with you Nagisa and Rei as well. Do you think I like you guys romantically?” Haru asked with a raised eyebrow. Makoto shook his head. “No but -“

"Good cause that would be weird." Haru said with a sigh. He looked back at Makoto and flicked him in the head. "You’re weird Makoto. Rin is too. So you two should get together and have a weird wedding and then have weird Christmas colored babies with shark teeth or something." He said folding his arms and nodding.  

Makoto stared at his friend as if he lost his mind because honestly, it felt like he had. “…Haru. Do you really think that I have a chance with Rin?” He asked quietly. Haru took another sip of his water and shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know but you’ll never know until you try. You can’t keep sitting and watching from the sidelines Makoto. Nothing is gained that way. You have to go out and do it.” Haru said with a nod. 

He was right but Makoto was still scared. “But Haru..What if it goes wrong I don’t want to do this alone.” Haru stared at him and took his phone from him causing the other boy to yelp in surprise. “What? Haru what are you-”  The phone was ringing and Haru thrust the phone back and put it next to Makoto’s ear. Suddenly He heard a very familiar voice pick up the phone. 

"Hello?" 

Makoto almost fell off of the bed in surprise. He called Rin! That manipulative little shit! Haru just winked and gave him a thumbs up and mothed. “I’m rooting for you.” Makoto frowned and took the phone from him. “H-Hi Rin! How are you today?” He asked trying to start up a casual conversation. There was a hesitant silence on the other line and Makoto stiffened at the silence. Until he heard a softher “Fine. Thanks. Are you okay?” He asked quietly. There was a tinge of worry in his voice.  
  
Makoto smiled and said “Yes I’m fine but Rin. I need to tell you something.” He said in a tone that radiated seriousness.   
  
"Okay what about? I’m all ears." The other replied with an air of curiosity. Makoto took a deep breath and said a soft. "Rin what would you say if I told you that I liked you?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god haru is so ooc i'm sorry


	5. Red and Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fuck...Okay I've been kinda busy with school and then eternal summer came out and then i fell in love with sousuke and then just aaaaaaaaaah but heres an update!!

 

 

 

_"Rin what would you say if I told you that I liked you?"_ His confession played over and over in his head as he listened to the other’s silence on the other line. Had he come on too strong? Was he right about the red head liking Haru? Did Rin not understand what he meant. He held his breath and was about to say it again when he was interrupted by a bewildered, “What?”   
  
"U-um, I said that I liked you.." He answered softly. There was a sharp intake of breath on the other line follow by a huff. "So is that why you were acting so weird?" the other asked. Makoto fidgeted slightly and lte out a shaky "Y-Yes." He didn’t know what Rin’s answer was going to be but he hoped that even if it was a no they could still be friends. "It’s fine if you don’t like me back. I just thought you needed to kn-"  
  
"—you too."   
  
Makoto blinked and said a soft. “What?” He heard a soft sigh on the other line and the shifting of clothes. “I said I like you too.” Makoto felt his world stop and he dropped his phone. Luckily since he was on his bed, it landed softly on his mattress. Rin liked him back. Rin  _liked_ back. Rin liked  _him_ back. He was pulled out of his own little world by a soft “Makoto?” He looked over and he saw Haru shaking his phone in his face and looking worriedly at him. “He..He likes me….” He whispered in astonishment. “He likes  _me.”_ Haru smiled and handed him back his phone. “Rin? Are you still there?” He asked quietly. He heard a grunt and a gruff  ”Yeah.” on the other line. “So…What happens now?” He asked his voice filled with uncertainty.   
  
Rin sighed and said “Hold on.” He heard more shifting and a thud and  a loud “Goddammit!” on the other line and he chuckled a little. He was slightly worried though. What the hell happened? He heard what sounded like a door shut and foot steps and then almost instantly Rin was back.  ”You still there?” He sounded out of breath and that confused Makoto a lot. “Yeah…What happened?” He asked. He didn’t want to sound to worried but he was sort of.   
  
Rin sighed. “I wanted to be alone while we talked about this. So I was just getting up and leaving my room.”   
  
Oh. Well that made sense. “So where are you now?” He heard a loud crackling sound on the other line. “I’m outside.” he said coolly. Makoto frowned. His caretakers instinct was taking over. “Rin…You could catch a cold. You should go back inside.” He said gently. “I’ll be fine. But we need to talk. So let’s talk.”   
  
"O-Okay…" He murmured. Rin had never been one to beat around the bush so he shouldn’t have really expected anything differently. "Where did you want to start?" He asked. Rin was silent for a minute but it felt like forever to Makoto. "How long have you liked me?" Makoto almost dropped his phone again in surprise. He wanted to know that? Well he couldn’t very well lie to the other so, he just thought he’d tell him the truth.   
  
"For 4 years." he heard the other take a sharp breath and Makotos grip on his phone tightened. Was that weird? Did he scare Rin off already? That was when he heard a soft laugh. Rin’s laugh had always been his favorite and had always brightened Makoto’s spirit. That was not the case right now.   
  
"Really? That long? Wow." He said voice filled with mirth and laughter. Makoto felt sick. "Yeah…" He said gripping his phone so hard that his knuckles turned white. That was when the laughter stopped and the silence took over again and Makoto asked, "S-So how long have you liked me?" The silence that stretched on could have killed Makoto even though it barely lasted a full sixty seconds.  
  
"When I turned 14."  
  
But that was impossible. Rin hadn’t even seen him when he was 14. how did he develop a crush on him? “How? You weren’t even here when you were 14.” He was truly confused. When he was 14 that was when he stopped responding to Makoto’s letters and emails. He thought the other had grown tired of him and made new friends. “Why do you think I stopped responding to your emails and letters Makoto?”  
  
"Because you thought they were annoying?" He asked. This truly confused him. What other reason would Rin have to stop talking to him right out of the blue like that? "That’s not why." He said with a soft groan."I stopped responding because…Well..I thought liking you was..well..wrong.."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah okay im also writing another story atm too that should be up in the next few days woo! its gonna be a LOT different from this though


End file.
